I know there were apparently some problems with this game when it first came out that may have brought down the overall rating some so I wanted to write a review to help boost it back up. First I want to say that I had nearly no problems playing through to 100%. I think I had it freeze up twice where I had to unplug the Wii to get going again. Sure, it is a bit inconvenient but, in my opinion, doesn't take away from the overall game at all.Secondly, this is just a great game. I do not play the Wii a lot but when I get LEGO Harry potter in (this goes for the first one as well) I have a hard time walking away. It's just plain fun, especially if you are a fan of the books/movies. I'm more a fan of puzzle-type games but don't want to spend a lot of time on video games ... MoreI know there were apparently some problems with this game when it first came out that may have brought down the overall rating some so I wanted to write a review to help boost it back up. First I want to say that I had nearly no problems playing through to 100%. I think I had it freeze up twice where I had to unplug the Wii to get going again. Sure, it is a bit inconvenient but, in my opinion, doesn't take away from the overall game at all.Secondly, this is just a great game. I do not play the Wii a lot but when I get LEGO Harry potter in (this goes for the first one as well) I have a hard time walking away. It's just plain fun, especially if you are a fan of the books/movies. I'm more a fan of puzzle-type games but don't want to spend a lot of time on video games so I love solving the simple puzzles to move on to the next part and searching around for collectibles. I love all the different satisfying sounds as you pick things up and the little celebratory music when you save a Student in Peril--it's these little things that make it enjoyable.In comparison to the first game it's about even. Some things are better--new spells (aguamente is my favorite), more interesting dueling (although that gets a little old after awhile), new capabilities for characters like Arthur Weasley, and directional arrows that shows you where to go in order to use something you've picked up--among others, I'm sure. I've started playing the first one again because I never got completely throu.

I originally did not give this game a good review. It is sooooo very different from the Lego Harry Potter years 1-4..... I quickly became frustrated and gave up on it. However, I picked it up and started playing it again from beginning to end and I am now comfortable in giving it four stars.I wasn't crazy about dueling at first. I read someone else's comment that all you had to do was keep hitting the "y" button and you will eventually win. So I did that for a while and it was totally tedious. Instead, if you use the "b" button to block spells, the spells sometimes rebound on your dueling partner and then you can use the "y" button to finish them off. This makes dueling MUCH better! I liked the dueling club portion of the game. Each level has an unlockable character ... MoreI originally did not give this game a good review. It is sooooo very different from the Lego Harry Potter years 1-4..... I quickly became frustrated and gave up on it. However, I picked it up and started playing it again from beginning to end and I am now comfortable in giving it four stars.I wasn't crazy about dueling at first. I read someone else's comment that all you had to do was keep hitting the "y" button and you will eventually win. So I did that for a while and it was totally tedious. Instead, if you use the "b" button to block spells, the spells sometimes rebound on your dueling partner and then you can use the "y" button to finish them off. This makes dueling MUCH better! I liked the dueling club portion of the game. Each level has an unlockable character in it.There is no need to use the stylus in this game. I didn't like that at first....but I actually enjoyed it the more I played it. You use the left and right buttons to scroll through the spells you want to use (shown on the lower screen) and you use the "x" button to scroll through your inventory of characters.I can't speak for others.....but MY copy of this game kept crashing between dueling club levels. However, since I had plenty of money, I decided to try turning off the extras (studs x2, etc) ......and once I did that, my ds stopped crashing.I'm glad I gave this game a second chance. It's not bad.....just different.

The first lego DS game I ever played was Lego HP years 1-4. It was the best, most enjoyable game I'd played in a long time. I immediately ordered the sequel off ebay, along with Legos Indiana Jones DS and Star Wars DS. Due to a bad transaction I didn't get the HP game, but the others came and while the control mechanics are different from HP 1-4, they are still awesome games that I've fallen in love with.I say all this because after reading reviews here, and elsewhere, on HP 5-7 DS, I was expecting a lousy game. When I finally did get the game, I was upset, but not because it's a bad game. I was upset because it's a great game that has recieved unfair pans.No, this game isn't as good as the first one, mainly because you don't use the stylus. Yes, it's true the ... MoreThe first lego DS game I ever played was Lego HP years 1-4. It was the best, most enjoyable game I'd played in a long time. I immediately ordered the sequel off ebay, along with Legos Indiana Jones DS and Star Wars DS. Due to a bad transaction I didn't get the HP game, but the others came and while the control mechanics are different from HP 1-4, they are still awesome games that I've fallen in love with.I say all this because after reading reviews here, and elsewhere, on HP 5-7 DS, I was expecting a lousy game. When I finally did get the game, I was upset, but not because it's a bad game. I was upset because it's a great game that has recieved unfair pans.No, this game isn't as good as the first one, mainly because you don't use the stylus. Yes, it's true the "cutscenes" are of horrible quality, but that's not the end of the world. This game follows the same formula as the other Lego DS games, and controls like them. If you only compare this game to HP 1-4, that's unfair. Because to me, HP 1-4 DS broke the mold on all Lego DS games. But if you love that game, yet also love all the other Lego DS games, then you have nothing to worry about if you buy this one. It has all the charm and enjoyability of all the other Lego DS games. Plus a huge bonus is that your party only consists of one on screen character, so that means there is no tag-along character to get in your way. That was my only peeve about the other Lego DS games.In conclusion: I seriously love this game.

Is it just me or are the Lego video games getting a bit lazy? I should clarify, I am not really a video gamer, but after exposure to Lego Star Wars a few years ago I found myself completely addicted to the Lego video games. My favorite by far is Indiana Jones (with the original 3 movies).I think I have purchased and played all of the Lego games now except for the updated Star Wars with all 6 movies. In my opinion, most of what came out after Star Wars and Indiana Jones has been somewhat disappointing. Entertaining enough for me to play them and probably still buy new stuff, but just not as fun as they were when they first came out.I have only played a bit on this latest Harry Potter, so I cannot yet speak to issues other had with freezing etc, but I will update if I ... MoreIs it just me or are the Lego video games getting a bit lazy? I should clarify, I am not really a video gamer, but after exposure to Lego Star Wars a few years ago I found myself completely addicted to the Lego video games. My favorite by far is Indiana Jones (with the original 3 movies).I think I have purchased and played all of the Lego games now except for the updated Star Wars with all 6 movies. In my opinion, most of what came out after Star Wars and Indiana Jones has been somewhat disappointing. Entertaining enough for me to play them and probably still buy new stuff, but just not as fun as they were when they first came out.I have only played a bit on this latest Harry Potter, so I cannot yet speak to issues other had with freezing etc, but I will update if I have anything of value to add.Generally speaking this game has been kind of "ho-hum" so far. It seems to lack any real milestones, the sense of "Ha! I got it" that I found with some of the other Lego games. In both the Years 1-4 and this one I don't really love having to use the wand to destroy things, but I can get past that. In addition, it seems that this, Pirates and the 2nd Star Wars game seem to have issues with graphics (on both XBox and Wii) making hard to know just where to place and/or find some things. I lost the XBox in the divorce, so it is Wii from now on for me, but I don't see a huge difference in graphics :-)One of the reasons I personally like Lego is because you don't die, and not being a major.

In years 1-4, I always thought it was so tedious to have to keep switching to Wingardium Leviosa to put objects together and then go back to Reducto to smash things, but in years 5-7, that's like an automatic feature! You don't have to have keep switching spells. No matter what spell you're using, objects that can be put together automatically turn purple and you can swish them up.Also, when using the red spells that you buy at the Weasley's joke shop, you can select just one to use instead of all of them constantly switching around on you.Game play was very cool and the ghost that you have to follow flows a lot faster than in 1-4. The cut scenes were, of course, very cute and funny. Overall, I was very satisfied with this game. I love Harry Potter and the whole ... MoreIn years 1-4, I always thought it was so tedious to have to keep switching to Wingardium Leviosa to put objects together and then go back to Reducto to smash things, but in years 5-7, that's like an automatic feature! You don't have to have keep switching spells. No matter what spell you're using, objects that can be put together automatically turn purple and you can swish them up.Also, when using the red spells that you buy at the Weasley's joke shop, you can select just one to use instead of all of them constantly switching around on you.Game play was very cool and the ghost that you have to follow flows a lot faster than in 1-4. The cut scenes were, of course, very cute and funny. Overall, I was very satisfied with this game. I love Harry Potter and the whole world of Harry Potter and I thought this game stayed pretty true to the books and movies.

My then 6 year old fell in love with all things Harry Potter over the holidays. Fortunately for her, mommy and daddy had not seen the last 3 movies so we had a movie marathon one weekend and watched the whole lot of them. After that was all said and done she was running around the house expecto patronuming us all day. We decided to grab a couple Harry Potter games to get her to stop killing us all day. It's really hard to come back to life after the worlds best 6 year old wizard kills you for the 23rd time. We had to do something. In comes the Lego games. Overall any of the Lego games are great for her age. She had played the xbox 360 version of the Lego Movie video game with her daddy and loved every minute of it. Needless to say the Lego Harry Potters were a no ... MoreMy then 6 year old fell in love with all things Harry Potter over the holidays. Fortunately for her, mommy and daddy had not seen the last 3 movies so we had a movie marathon one weekend and watched the whole lot of them. After that was all said and done she was running around the house expecto patronuming us all day. We decided to grab a couple Harry Potter games to get her to stop killing us all day. It's really hard to come back to life after the worlds best 6 year old wizard kills you for the 23rd time. We had to do something. In comes the Lego games. Overall any of the Lego games are great for her age. She had played the xbox 360 version of the Lego Movie video game with her daddy and loved every minute of it. Needless to say the Lego Harry Potters were a no brainer after that. You don't really die. As a video Gamer from the Atari generation I generally dislike endless tries but hey, for a 6 year old I guess it's ok.As for the game itself it follows the movies very closely so if you haven't watched them (I think we were the last people on the planet who hadn't!) you will have spoilers. It is easy to play and easy to follow. Only a couple times did she get stuck on the DS version. There were a few difficult parts on the xbox version but I'm reviewing that separately. Not sure what else to say. Great movies, great combination with the Lego model of games. I love portable stuff. How on earth did our parents tolerate us in a car back in the day? ;) 5 stars all the way!!

My daughter is a highly intelligent, and college educated, and she loves the whole LEGO series! The games roughly follow the movies as far as settings and adventures go. Human players can choose between multiple characters who have different powers that are useful in different places. These games lack the intense reality and realistic violence of the "adult" games, while providing plenty of levels to explore and conquer, skills to develop with the various characters, and lots of opportunity to knock things down to collect coins or build things from LEGOS that are useful tools in the adventure. I think the games are all simple enough for a child to play, but have enough possible variations and complexities to hold an adult's interest. Not for serious "gamers," however.

Ok so this game is quite glitchy BUT if you follow the guidelines on line by other users on how to avoid these problems, the game is completely worth it. (it's really only the one level in Half Blood Prince at the Weasley's house that causes the biggest problem). My husband and I read all the reviews and were so disappointed and thought we just wont buy this one even though we'd been waiting for such a long time for it to come out. I am so glad we gave in and finally got it- I couldn't resist! The game didn't glitch or crash once because we followed other gamer's advice about the sound settings for the whole game and didn't use a splt screen for that one level (mentioned above)! seriously NOT ONCE! In fact, we also bought Pirates of the Carribean and this was much ... MoreOk so this game is quite glitchy BUT if you follow the guidelines on line by other users on how to avoid these problems, the game is completely worth it. (it's really only the one level in Half Blood Prince at the Weasley's house that causes the biggest problem). My husband and I read all the reviews and were so disappointed and thought we just wont buy this one even though we'd been waiting for such a long time for it to come out. I am so glad we gave in and finally got it- I couldn't resist! The game didn't glitch or crash once because we followed other gamer's advice about the sound settings for the whole game and didn't use a splt screen for that one level (mentioned above)! seriously NOT ONCE! In fact, we also bought Pirates of the Carribean and this was much worse than Harry Potter. If you have been waiting to play this game and you let the other reviews prevent you from buying it till now, don't! It's so much better than the first and it has been my favorite lego game yet. Take the risk- you wont regret it! (just don't forget the settings!)

I've been a big fan of the Lego games from the start, and I was thrilled when they announced they were making a Harry Potter version. However, I was greatly disappointed with the first one (years 1-4), the DS version was very simplified compared to the console one, and I was frustrated when I saw how much I was missing on.Years 5-7 on the other hand, is brilliant. There are so many things you have to do in order to complete each level. Being able to use the pets for example, or the spectrespecs... The characters on screen are bit bigger too, so you can actually see who you're playing with, a delight when it comes to custom characters. They also added a "duelling club" which gives you the opportunity to duel against all the characters from the game.I saw that the ... MoreI've been a big fan of the Lego games from the start, and I was thrilled when they announced they were making a Harry Potter version. However, I was greatly disappointed with the first one (years 1-4), the DS version was very simplified compared to the console one, and I was frustrated when I saw how much I was missing on.Years 5-7 on the other hand, is brilliant. There are so many things you have to do in order to complete each level. Being able to use the pets for example, or the spectrespecs... The characters on screen are bit bigger too, so you can actually see who you're playing with, a delight when it comes to custom characters. They also added a "duelling club" which gives you the opportunity to duel against all the characters from the game.I saw that the negative reviews focus on the lack of proper "DS" interaction. Honestly, I'm not a big fan of the touch screen, so I'm glad that the developers decided to put that aside and instead give us a more complete experience of the game. I can understand why people who already have the console version would find this annoying, but it's great for those who only have the handheld one.The only downside is the dreadful quality of the cutscenes, but apart from that I am very happy with this game.